1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for incorporating peripheral equipment such as a CD ROM or a disk drive into a computer and, more particularly, to side rails having spring fingers mounted to sides of the peripheral equipment for slidably installing in a cage of the computer having spring tabs on opposite inner sides thereof.
2. The Related Art
Peripheral equipment such as a disk drive or a CD ROM can be installed in a computer chassis in various ways. The most common way is by screw mounting the CD ROM directly to the computer chassis which makes installation and removal thereof time-consuming and laborious. As the computer industry progresses, other apparatuses have been developed which facilitate installation and removal of CD ROMs and disk drives. Such an apparatus, disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,262,923, 5,332,306, and 5,510,955, comprises two flat rectangular side rails which are mounted to opposite sides of the CD ROM by screws. Bends or rectangular plates are provided in a bay of the computer chassis where the CD ROM is to be mounted and are adapted for slidably engaging with the side rails. The CD ROM is fully inserted into the bay and secured against movement by screwing the side rails to the chassis by screws, by tightening a screw to abut against the CD ROM itself, or by the side rails snapping the computer chassis.
In the assembly described above, clearance always exists between the CD ROM and the computer chassis resulting in a loose engagement therebetween. Thus, damage to the CD ROM caused by shock can not be resisted by this structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,080 describes a pair of sliding devices mounted to opposite sides of a disk drive and forming a lateral channel and an opening on one end for sliding on wheels mounted onto the walls of the computer chassis. The mounting of the wheels becomes very tedious and complex thereby increasing the cost of manufacturing the chassis. Furthermore, clearance exists between the wheels and the sliding devices resulting in a loose engagement between the disk drive and the computer chassis.
Clearance between the wheels and the sliding devices also prevents the disk drive from properly connecting with the chassis and grounding. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) emitting through the clearance may be harmful to people which is a very serious defect for precise operation of the computer and should be avoided.
Therefore, an improved apparatus for securely mounting computer peripheral equipment to a computer chassis is required to overcome the above mentioned defects of the prior art.